The Nerd Who Loved Me

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  Leo came awake instantly, struggled to get up, and hit his head on the roof of the camper shell. He swore loudly in Italian.

  Harry winced. "Leo, I'm sorry, but I sure never ex­pected to see—"

  "Stand back," Leo said. "I'm climbing out of this contraption, and I don't expect my exit to be pretty."

  "Were you in there all night?" Harry still had a tough time imagining Leo sleeping in the back of Dudley's pickup alongside Dudley. Leo was a guy who insisted on the executive floor and turn-down service.

  "Most of it." Leo groaned as he heaved his leg over the tailgate. "I wanted to hang around, even though Dud­ley got rid of Joey."

  "What do you mean, 'got rid of ?" Harry didn't want the guy around, but he didn't want murder on his con­science, either.

  "Oh, take it easy." Leo climbed the rest of the way out of the pickup and stood brushing lint off his dark shirt and slacks. "We're not going to bump him off."

  "Good."

  Dudley climbed out of the camper shell and clapped his cowboy hat on his head. "I brought my pistol along to scare this Joey character. Turns out I found something better, right, partner?" He grinned at Leo.

  "Which reminds me," Leo said. "Feel free to take that friend of yours for a ride in the country." He glanced at his Rolex. "We both need to get cleaned up. We're sup­posed to meet the Phoenix boys at eight."

  "What friend?" Harry had a bad feeling that he al­ready knew the answer.

  "Just a snake," Dudley said.

  "Please tell me you didn't torn that big snake you caught yesterday loose on Joey." The idea made Harry queasy.

  Dudley laughed. "Nope. That snake you located is enjoying life way up Schnebly Hill Road. This one's a baby, kind of cute, in a way."

  Leo met Harry's gaze. "Don't mind him. What hap­pened is, Dudley took his duffel over with a snake inside and told Joey we were having a snake problem. Joey left. End of story."

  Harry's heart pounded as he glanced around. "Are we having a snake problem?"

  "Nah," Dudley said. "After finding two yesterday, I'd be amazed if I spot any the rest of the week."

  "Fortunately, that won't matter to us," Leo said. "We'll be out of here."

  "So, uh, where's this baby snake now?" Harry tried to sound casual, but he really needed to know.

  "I put the duffel in the cab," Dudley said. "I should probably go check and see how the little cuss is doing." He walked up to the passenger-side door.

  Harry's admiration for Leo grew. "You slept all night in the same truck with a rattlesnake?"

  "Sure." Leo acted nonchalant, but his chest puffed out. "No big deal."

  "I have to tell you, I couldn't have done it. Was the back window in the cab shut tight?"

  Leo's eyes widened. "Shit, I forgot about the back window."

  "Whoopsie!" Dudley called as he opened the door. "Musta had a hole in my duffel!" He pulled it out, un­zipped it, and peered inside. "Sure enough." He waggled his finger through a hole in the bottom.

  Leo and Harry both backed away from the truck.

  "Goddamn that Dudley," Leo muttered. "I hate snakes. They give me the willies."

  "Me, too," Harry said.

  "That's probably my fault. I'll bet you picked that up from me." Leo said it apologetically, but there was a cer­tain pride there, too, as if he liked knowing he'd passed something on, even if it was a fear of snakes.

  "Yeah, maybe I did get it from you." Harry had never considered that Leo might enjoy thinking of Harry as the son he'd never had.

  "Found him!" Dudley shouted. "Curled up in a cor­ner of the truck bed, fast asleep. I'll just leave him there and drive him out to his new home. See you boys later." Dudley hopped in the cab. Starting the engine took a couple of tries, but eventually he drove away.

  "And good riddance." Leo gazed after the departing truck and shuddered.

  "So that's that, then," Harry said. "What next?"

  Leo glanced at him. "You'd better have Lainie make her call."

  "Yeah. Okay." Harry's gut twisted.

  "How are things between you two?"

  "Uh, exactly what do you mean by that?"

  Leo gave him the Sicilian glare. "You know what I'm talking about. I can't believe I have to write you a memo. Is there a chance of you two working something out, maybe?"

  "I don't think so."

  "Why not? You're getting along, right?"

  "Umm, yeah." Harry glanced away, afraid Leo would see too much in his expression. "But she has to think of Dexter and this fortune the little guy could be in line for. Getting involved with me wouldn't be a good idea,"

  Leo snorted in disgust. "I've known a lot of rich people in my life, kid, and you can't predict 'em. Re­arranging your life so that they'll leave you their money is a mistake, in my considered opinion."

  "Maybe." Harry rubbed the back of his neck. "But it's not up to me. It's up to Lainie. And she wants the best for her kid."

  "Like any mother worth her salt. Oh, by the way, her apartment door's been repaired."

  "Thanks. I should've known you'd arrange for some­body to do that. Let me help you pay for—"

  "Nah, forget it. The great thing would be if we could eliminate this Joey situation and give you two a chance."

  "I'd say the percentages are against us on that one, Leo."

  "Ah, don't count yourself out too quick. We're a long way from dealing the last hand of this particular game. But we need Lainie to contact this joker. If he wants to meet her, have her pick a nice public spot, say about ten o'clock this morning. Let me know if she reaches him."

  Harry nodded. "So you'll be out here?"

  "Yeah, until Dudley shows up, showered, shaved, and snakeless."

  "Listen, once he's back, you're welcome to use our bathroom to clean up if you want."

  "Thanks, but Dudley already said I could use his place, and ... I don't want to disturb your privacy."

  "It doesn't matter."

  "Sure it does," Leo said softly. "If you have something good going there, kid, try to keep it going. She's all right."

  "Yeah." Harry nodded. "Yeah, she is." Then he turned and walked to the time-share unit, all the while wishing he could turn back the clock.

  * * *

  When Lainie woke up to find Harry gone, she panicked and went looking for him. He'd become her anchor, her rock, and she wanted to see his face. But he wasn't in the unit. Finally she peeked out the front window.

  To her immense relief he was there, looking solid and Harry-like as he talked with Leo in the parking lot. Whew. He hadn't deserted her. No doubt he'd be back any minute, though, and she was a wreck, especially her hair. Sometime during the night she'd pulled off the red wig and finger-combed her long hair. Harry had finger-combed it, too. Now that had been a sensuous experience.

  But then they'd taken another magic mattress trip, and her hair was now a tangled mess. This was their first morning-after encounter, and she didn't want to greet him looking like she'd stuck her finger in a light socket. She'd use this chance when he was AWOL to jump in the shower and make herself presentable again.

  She was halfway through her shower when she heard footsteps. For one awful second she wondered if she should have locked the bathroom door, just in case Joey had managed to slip past her two guardians. "Harry?"

  "Yeah, it's me."

  She let out her breath in a whoosh. How she loved hearing his strong, steady voice. "I'm glad it's you. For a minute there, I was afraid that—"

  "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. I guess I was a lit­tle distracted. I should have said something right away, so you'd know it was me."

  She slicked her hair back. "I woke up and wondered where you'd gone." Grabbing the edge of the shower curtain, she looked out and found herself staring at Harry's broad back. "Why are you standing like that?"

  "So I won't be tempted to climb in there with you. I tend to lose track of time when we ..." He paused and cleared his throat. "Anyway, I've been talking to Leo. He had your apartment door fix
ed."

  Another wave of indebtedness hit her. "That's ... terrific. I'll find a way to pay him back."

  "I doubt he'll take it. He's never let me repay him for anything. But you do need to call Joey. And soon."

  Lainie closed her eyes. The fun was truly over. "Yes, I know." She let the curtain fall back into place and starting soaping her body, the body Harry had loved so thoroughly during the night. "Did Leo spend the night in his car?" she asked.

  "Uh, no. If you can believe it, he spent the night in the back of Dudley's pickup. With Dudley." His voice seemed farther away.

  "You're kidding." She stopped what she was doing to check again, and he was now standing in the bathroom doorway, still with his back to her.

  "Nope, not kidding. It's quite a story. But maybe I'd better save it."

  "Because I'm in the shower and that gets you hot?" she said softly.

  With a groan, he reached back and fumbled for the doorknob. Then he left, closing the door firmly behind him.

  It was one of the nicest compliments she'd ever been given. He still wanted her desperately, even after the sex-filled night they'd spent together. She still wanted him, too, as it turned out, in more ways than one.

  Oh, sure, she wouldn't mind having him strip down and join her in the shower, but she understood they didn't have time for that. Almost as much as the sex, though, she would have enjoyed having him on the other side of the shower curtain, filling her in on Leo's adven­tures. She liked Harry's company as much as his im­pressive package. She plain liked being with him.

  Admitting that meant admitting that she'd found a guy who satisfied her on all levels. She was now offi­cially in love with Harry. Unfortunately, she was in no position to do anything about that because of her past mistakes. And that sucked.

  Lainie decided in respect for Harry's urges she'd stay out of his way until she had clothes on again. Appar­ently he had the same idea, because once she was out of the bathroom and wrapped discreetly in a towel, he an­nounced that he'd take his shower next so she could have the bedroom to herself.

  She took her time getting dressed and putting on her makeup because she wanted to look good for Harry. Also, she was trying to ignore the fact that he was in the shower, naked. Now he'd be toweling off. Now he'd be putting on his clothes, darn it. She liked that he wasn't one solid slab of muscle. He was huggable, approach­able, comforting. And when aroused, he was all the man she could ever want.

  "I'm ready." He leaned in the bedroom doorway looking even more approachable than he'd seemed in her mind's eye.

  She craved everything about him, from his glasses to his gentle smile, from his broad shoulders to his capable hands. "I am, too." She shoved her lipstick brush back into the tube of lip gloss. "You're so beautiful."

  She gazed at him and thought of all the wonderful things that made Harry such a terrific guy. She cata­loged his kindness, his generosity, his bravery, and his unselfishness. "Not half as beautiful as you."

  He blushed. "I'm not beau—"

  "Yes you are." She turned to face him. "To me, you are."

  "You're talking about the inside of me, then. You think I have a beautiful soul and all that. It's not true, though."

  "I'm talking about the inside and the outside. I'm talking about the person who's given me the best twenty-four hours of my life."

  He shifted his weight and looked uncomfortable. "Look, you don't have to say that."

  "I know I don't." She held his gaze, determined to give him some idea of how she felt even if she couldn't spill everything that was in her heart. "And you proba­bly think the only reason I am saying it is because I fi­nally had sex after five years and anything would feel good. The first time, maybe that was so. Even the sec­ond time, maybe, but after that, it wasn't just about get­ting some. It was ... special."

  "For me, too," he said softly.

  She wanted to touch him in the worst way. Just to feel his arms around her right now would be worth a million dollars if she had a million dollars. If she had a million dollars, though, she wouldn't be in this fix in the first place. She'd never thought money was very important until now. She'd been naive about that.

  "You need to call him," Harry murmured. "Yes."

  He reached down and laced his fingers through hers. "Come on. I'll sit right there beside you."

  She nodded, wishing she could have him sitting right there beside her forever and knowing it wasn't in the cards. She allowed him to lead her over to the sofa.

  He picked up his cell phone and handed it to her. "If he wants to meet with you, Leo thinks ten o'clock would be a good time."

  "Okay."

  "And he also said to pick a place that's nice and pub­lic, so I was thinking that open-air coffee shop where we went yesterday morning."

  She hesitated, thinking of that beautiful spot that would now be forever spoiled in her memory. "I hate this."

  "Me, too."

  "But I have to talk to him and see what we can work out about Dexter. Maybe he'll be willing to do it over the phone." But she didn't think so. Not Joey, who believed he could turn on the charm and always get what he wanted. Taking a deep breath, she punched in Joey's number.

  When he didn't answer after three rings, she found herself praying that he was passed out drunk somewhere. But of course that would only delay the inevitable. On the fourth ring, he picked up, and sure enough, he sounded hung-over.

  Just hearing his voice made her start to shake. She thought of all that Benjamin money and how he might use it to take Dexter away. Then Harry put his arm around her shoulders and instantly she felt calmer.

  She cleared her throat. "Joey, it's Lainie." Silence.

  "Joey, are you there?"

  "Why are you calling me? I thought you were trying to avoid me like the plague."

  She thought the plague was a perfect description of Joey. "I needed time to think everything through."

  "Yeah, yeah, I guess. Listen, did you know that place you're staying in has a serious rattlesnake problem?"

  "A rattlesnake problem?" Lainie glanced at Harry, who shook his head.

  "Yeah. I drove over there to see if I could talk to you, and some old dude in a cowboy hat had this snake in his duffel bag, if you can believe it. I almost shit a brick when that thing rattled. He said they had like a rattlesnake epi­demic going on, so I left, man. I didn't want to talk to you that bad."

  Lainie's mood lifted. So Dudley had scared Joey with a snake in a bag. She would have loved to see that. "Now that you mention it, we had a six-footer on the patio yes­terday. I understand they're quite common around here."

  "Well, you can have that place, then! It's a wonder they're not ass-deep in lawsuits, with snakes slithering everywhere. Stupid situation, if you ask me. Listen, we need to talk."

  "We're talking now. What do you want to talk about?"

  "No, I mean in person." His voice grew silky. "I've missed you, babe. I'd like to see you again."

  She didn't believe that for a minute. "Would you like to come to Crimson Canyons?" Although she had no in­tention of setting up the meeting here, she couldn't re­sist suggesting it to get his reaction.

  "Hell, no! I'm not coming within five miles of that snake pit! You take your chances if you want to, but I'm not getting bit by no rattlesnake. Not this boy. Some­where else. Maybe some cozy little restaurant. You know, like old times."

  "I don't remember any cozy restaurants, Joey." She remembered hotel rooms and room service, but no cozy restaurants. Joey had always wanted to meet her where there was a bed readily available.

  "Then there should have been cozy restaurants. We could—"

  "How about a coffee shop?"

  "A cozy coffee shop?" He sounded hopeful.

  "Actually, it's outdoors. But I like it there. I'll meet you at ten this morning, if you want."

  "Okay, fine." He abandoned his seductive routine. "Ten o'clock. Just tell me where it is."

  She gave him directions and got off the phone as quickly
as possible. Then she shivered. "I feel icky, like I need another shower."

  "Come here." Harry gathered her close, nestled his freshly shaven cheek against hers, and stroked her back. "It'll be okay."

  "I don't know if it will or not." And yet, here in his arms, she could make herself believe that everything would be okay. For the first time in their short but fiery relationship, Harry's touch was about comfort instead of sex. And comfort was exactly what she needed now, just as pure sex had been exactly what she'd needed last night.

  But she also had a job to do. She gave him a squeeze and moved away, out of that charmed circle where life was perfect. "I should probably switch my ring from my left hand to my right. Joey's not the most observant per­son in the world, but I don't want him asking questions."

  "Right." Harry watched as she took off the ring and put it on her other hand. He made no move to do the same.

  She wondered if that was on purpose or if he'd forgot­ten about his ring. In any case, she liked the idea that he still wore it as if they were married. The matching bands meant nothing, of course, but they didn't feel like noth­ing, and she was glad he kept his exactly where it was.

  She was as ready as she'd ever be. "Let's go see Leo," she said.

  Through the next couple of hours, while Leo and his backup guys set up their surveillance plan, Harry fought the urge to grab Lainie and make a getaway. All his in­stincts screamed that he needed to do something to pro­tect this woman he'd managed to fall in love with. He'd kept his ring on his left hand as if that would somehow keep the connection between them.

  By nine-thirty, the Phoenix guys had left the resort to take up their positions near the coffee shop. At fifteen minutes before ten, while Dudley and Leo stood a taste­ful distance away, Harry handed Lainie the keys to his Lexus. "Be careful," he said.

  She gave him a tiny smile. "I promise not to wreck your car."

  "I don't give a damn about the car, and you know it." "I know," she said softly.

  "Remember what Leo told you. If he tries to grab you, start yelling. And run."

  "Right." She stuck out her foot. "I'll be a blur in these." Leo had outfitted her for this caper, sending Dud­ley off with a wad of cash to buy running shoes, white shorts, and a bright red T-shirt.